GALLERY: Lollapalooza 2011

For years, the studio monitor has been the holy grail of mixing setups—treated rooms, perfectly placed monitors, and that elusive sweet spot. But what happens when you're on the move, working from home, or simply don’t have access to a tuned room? This is where high-quality headphones not only come in handy—they can be powerful mainstays in your workflow. Fortunately, we’re living in a golden age of headphone technology, where top-tier listening experiences are no longer tied to physical speaker systems or acoustically perfect environments.

There are several core benefits to working with headphones—especially when it comes to critical listening, portability, and budget efficiency.